Nvidia has just announced the new GeForce GTX 580M which is, according to company reps, the ”Fastest. Notebook GPU. Ever.” For those who can’t wait to frag in high FPS glory, you can order the Alienware M18X with the Nvidia GTX580M GPU, or opt for ultimate in power and pack two GeForce GTX 580M GPUs with the optional SLI mode to really bring the pain.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Performance FPS Benchmark

The new Nvidia GeForce GTX 580M GPU delivers a host of great gaming features that will necessitate a keyboard drool cleanup after reading what Nvidia has packed into the latest high-end gaming GPUs. The GeForce GTX 580M GPU brings up to 384 Cuda Cores and up to 2GB GDDR5 RAM to the party in order to deliver a 30% FPS boost over the competition.

“The best game support. The best gaming features. The best gaming performance available anywhere. That’s the essence of the GeForce GTX 580M,” said Rene Haas general manager of notebook products at NVIDIA in a press release announcing the new GPUs, adding, “With power like this, you can turn all the knobs to 11.”

Nvidia GTX 580M Crysis 2 Demo with Ultra Settings

Be sure to crank the resolution up to 1080P if you want to see the details.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 580M Features

• 3D Vision – Access to 525 3DTV ready titles
• Nvidia Optimus – Automatically switch between GPUs – “5 hours on Facebook, 100FPS in COD:Black Ops”
• DirectX11 – Direct X 11 support.
• PhysX - More detailed and realistic gameplay through physics.
• SLI – Double down with SLI configurations for 2x Scaling.
• Enhanced Tessellation – See greater detail in-game.
• Verde Drivers – Optimized, often updated drivers.

Example of Tessellation with the GeForce GTX 580M

Nvidia GTX 580M Equipped Notebooks

• Alienware M18X – optional SLI
• Alienware M17X – with Optimus
• Clevo P170HM3 – with Nvidia 3D Vision
• Clevo P270WM – with Nvidia 3D Vision, optional SLI

GeForce GTX 570M Announced

In addition the flagship GTX 580M GPU, Nvidia has also announced the Nvidia GTX 570M GPU which delivers a 20% boost in performance compared to previous generations thanks to the availability of up to 336 Cores, and either 1.5GB or 3GB of GDDR5 RAM. The first notebook to sport the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 570M GPU will be the MSI GT780R.

Availability of GTX 580M & GTX 570M Equipped Notebooks

The Alienware M18X is available starting today with the new NVIDIA Geforce GTX 580M with shipments starting in about a week. The Clevo models have no announced pricing or availability. The Alienware M17X will soon be available for order with the GTX 580M GPU, but no specific date has been given.

The MSI GT780R with the new GeForce GT570M is available starting today worldwide.

Additional announcements are expected in the coming days regarding increased availability and pricing of systems.

MSI GTX 580M GTX 570M Specs

Nvidia Launches GTX 580M – “Fastest. Notebook GPU. Ever.” is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

As a performance desktop-replacement system, the 17.3-inch HD+ widescreen Fujitsu LifeBook NH751 will be a multimedia powerhouse with its Intel Core i7 quad-core CPU and NVIDIA Optimus technology for graphics. The device is said to deliver outstanding sound with its integrated speakers along with a midrange and subwoofer. Intel Wireless Display technology can be used to send your picture to a nearby television for watching Blu-ray movies on a larger screen via the integrated Blu-ray drive. Starting at $1,199, this LifeBook will ship starting February.

Performance System

LIFEBOOK NH751 Notebook: Multimedia desktop replacement

• Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM Processor (Quad Core)

• 17.3″ HD+ Widescreen LCD

• Enjoy high-definition movies on integrated Blu-ray drive

• Outstanding sound quality with integrated speakers, midrange and subwoofer

• Outstanding performance with NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology, when needed, while extending battery life

• Wirelessly connect to TV with Intel Wireless Display

• Priced starting at $1,199(1). Available February through the Fujitsu website (www.shopfujitsu.com) and select retailers/etailers(2).

Fujitsu LifeBook NH751 Designed for Multimedia is a post by Chuong Nguyen from Notebooks.com.

In preparation for the notebooks coming out this holiday season today NVIDIA announced the company’s new mobile graphics processor — the GeForce 400M Series. As part of the new GeForce 400M series NVIDIA has announced 7 new GPUS all of which support Optimus and CUDA for intelligent switching and GPU computing.

The new GeForce 400M series includes the following processors which will run on the Verde driver.

• GeForce GT 445M, GT 435M, GT 425M, GT 420M and GT 415M for performance users
• GeForce GTX 470M and GTX 460M, for enthusiast users

The 400M series is based on the new Fermi architecture and according to NVIDIA perform 40% faster than the previous 300M series GPUs. Each of the GPU models announced today support PhysX and have been developed specifically for DirectX 11.

What’s special about the new GeForce 400M GPUs?

In the past consumers may not have paid much attention to the GPU in their notebooks unless they wanted to play games but these days, with more users turning to their notebooks for content creation and entertainment, there is an increased emphasis on the graphical power.

Thanks to Optimus, the power concerns which  were once a major factor in having a dedicated GPU have closed in many systems.

When comparing overall notebook performance of an Intel Core i5 system with integrated graphics to a system with an Intel Core i5 processor and a GeForce GT420M GPU NVIDIA found increased performance in four categories.

• Editing HD Video – 3x Faster – while using CyberLink PowerDirector
• Retouching photos – 5x Faster – using Photoshop running Beauty Box
• Web Photo Browsing – 50% faster – FPS on IE 9 viewing Flickr Preview.
• Gaming – 5X Faster – Frames Per Second on StarCraft II vat 16×10 on medium settings.

Combine all of these activities together and the time savings from a faster system can quickly add up.

What notebooks will use the GeForce 400M GPUs?

NVIDIA didn’t announce specific notebooks will come with the new GeForce 400M GPUs today but they did release that six out of seven OEM manufacturers will have at least one Optimus notebook running a 400M series GPU during the 2010 Holiday Season.

What about 3D ?

NVIDIA also announced that the following 400M series GPUs will support 3D Vision and 3DTVPlay – GeForce GTX 480M, GTX 470M, GTX 460M, GT 445M, GT 435M, and GT 425.

NVIDIA Announces GeForce 400M Series Notebook GPUS is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

After what seems like the longest wait for a netbook, the ASUS EEE PC 1215N — a little powerhouse of a netbook, has been released. The Eee PC 1215N is a 12″ netbook powered by a dual core Atom D525 processor complete with NVIDIA ION 2 graphics and Optimus technology for intelligent switching; it even packs in USB 3.0. Even with these specs the Eee PC 1215N is able to stay solidly in Netbook territory at 3.3 pounds and come in for sale below $500.

Thanks to NetbookNews we have had early looks at the Eee PC 1215N, but now that it is finally available, and likely to be formally announced later today, the Eee PC 1215 reviews are rolling in.

ASUS Eee PC 1215N Review Roundup

While the Eee PC 1215N isn’t perfect, and is still a netbook, these first reviews consistently rate it in the 3.5-4 star or 7 out of 10 range and elicited responses such as fastest and most impressive netbook. The powerful device earned good marks for its ability to play many modern games at low to medium detail, playback 1080P content and general performance. With battery life in the 5 hour range some reviewers were satisfied, while others were left wanting; ultimately you’ll have to decide if 5 hours is long enough. Reviewers dinged the netbook for plain looks, a bouncy keyboard and stiff mouse buttons

Credit: LaptopMag

Laptop Mag - ASUS Eee PC 1215N Review: “There are now a plethora of options for those who want to buy a sub-$500 notebook they can take anywhere, and the ASUS Eee PC 1215N provides the best bang for the buck. While AMD-powered 11.6-inch ultraportables offer comparable processing power, they don’t last as long on a charge as this machine and don’t provide as much graphics muscle. That’s the difference Nvidia’s Optimus technology makes. Yes, you could get a similarly sized Intel ULV laptop that offers more pep and even longer battery life (like the Acer Aspire Timeline 1830T), but you’d have to cough up at least $200 more. Call it a supercharged netbook or a notebook. The bottom line is that for those on a budget, the Eee PC 1215N can’t be beat.” – Michael A. Prospero

Credit: PC World

PC world – ASUS EeePC 1215N Review: “I find it odd that Asus didn’t do more with the 1215N’s design, considering all the envelope pushing it has done with other EeePC models. The gloss of its predecessor is gone, replaced by a matte black top that will still need a Windex wipe from time to time. It’s neither as forward-thinking as the metals found in the HP 5102 nor as trendy as the textures found in the Toshiba NB305-N410 and Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3.” – Cisco Cheng

Credit: NotebookReview

Notebookreview.com – ASUS Eee PC 1215N Review: “In terms of real world gaming this means you can play World of Warcraft on low detail settings at 1366×768 resolution and gameplay has an average framerate of about 45 frames per second. Similarly, you can play Left 4 Dead on low settings at 1366×768 and get average framerates in the low 20s. The bottom line is the latest version of Nvidia Ion works fine for games with low requirements (World of Warcraft, Portal, or Sims 3) but really starts to slow down with slightly more taxing first person shooters like Left 4 Dead or Resident Evil 5. Although this level of performance isn’t as jaw dropping as a portable gaming system like the Alienware M11x, the Eee PC 1215N certainly is the most impressive standard netbook we’ve reviewed to date.” – Jerry Jackson

Credit: Engadget

Engadget - ASUS Eee PC 1215N Review:  ”We realize the 1215N’s chiclet keyboard is the same as the one on the 1201N and the most recent Eee PCs, but the matte keys seem “clickier” than those on the other laptops. Additionally there’s just a significant amount of flex to the whole panel. While typing this review we noticed the entire panel caving in at times — it’s not pretty and we’ve seen much better quality ASUS keyboards, like that on the U33Jc. There’s no questioning that we prefer the chiclet keyboard on the M101z.

We have much kinder words about the 3.5 x 2.2-inch touchpad. Besides being quite wide, the plastic is soft to the touch no, really, your finger will thank you for the nice feeling surface. As usual, the multitouch was a bit sensitive; two finger scrolling was fairly accurate, but we disabled the pinch-to-zoom setting since we kept mistakenly zooming when we just wanted to get to the bottom of a web page.” – Joanna Stern

NetbookLive - Asus 1215N review powerful EEE PC in a compact sleek body: “I’ve said before this is a mini-multimedia device, because of the Nvidia graphics it brings. In practice this means it can run all kind of content, including 1080p self-stored or Flash clips, plus all kind of Flash games.” – Mike

NVIDIA Optimus Demo from NetbookLive

GadgetMix - ASUS Eee PC 1215N Review: “With all those amazing specs and performance, the Asus Eee PC 1215N is more like a sub-notebook than a netbook. It has Optimus Technology that translates in more efficient battery usage based on the CPU load and finally, it lets you play some of the most amazing games out there, at low/medium detail. The use of Atom D525 and next-generation ION graphics is a winner combo as it scored nearly 1000 points more in 3DMark06 benchmark compared to Asus 1201n that came with Atom 330 and first-generation ION graphics” – Kamal DS

Cnet - Asus Eee PC 1215N (black) review: “The display offers the standard 1,366×768-pixel native resolution found on nearly every laptop screen from 11 to 15 inches. That gives you plenty of room on screen for documents and Web pages, and it’s also ideal for 720p HD video. The display is glossy, but not overly so, minimizing distracting glare from nearby lights. The internal speakers were acceptable for a small laptop, and reasonably loud, but serious movie or music playback will still require headphones or external speakers.” – Dan Ackerman

ASUS Eee PC 1215N Detailed Specs:

• Intel Atom D525 dual core processor
• 12.1-inch LED backlit display (1366×768 resolution)
• 2GB DDR3 RAM
• 320GB HDD
• NVIDIA ION 2 with Optimus technology
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• Bluetooth 3.0
• 1.3-megapixel webcam
• 2 USB 3.0 ports
• USB 2.0 Sleep’n'Charge port (also found on Toshiba T200 series)
• HDMI port
• VGA out
• SD/MMC card reader
• 6-cell battery
• Windows 7 Home Premium

ASUS EEE PC 1215N Review Roundup – On Sale Today is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The ASUS Eee PC 1215N, dual core netbook, is now available for pre-order in the UK at Amazon.co.uk and an official ship date of September 7th. This new pre-order information coincides with the US pre-order which started last month and had an ETA of shipping on August 31st. While there has been no official U.S. release date for the 1215N signs are pointing to a late August or Early September release.

The ASUS Eee PC 1215N is a surprisingly feature packed netbook that comes in at just under $500 while including an Intel Atom D525 1.8GHz Dual Core processor, NVIDIA ION2, NVIDIA Optimus, USB 3.0 and Bluetooth. The Eee PC 1215N also comes with Windows 7 Home Premium instead of the Starter edition found on many netbooks.

Given the low price and numerous features the ASUS Eee PC 1215N has the potential to set a new standard in the high end netbook/ultralight laptop range; that is if the battery can stand up to the Dual Core Atom processor that is typically found in nettops.

For more on the ASUS Eee PC 1215N, check out this hands on video and review by Nicole Scott of NetbookNews.com from back in May; before the processor was upgraded to the current Intel Atom D525.

The 1215N may also be able t tackle your mobile gaming fix. This according to Netbooklive.com’s ASUS Eee PC 1215N review which provides a complete rundown of the netbook including the video below, a detailed look at the 1215N and reports batter life of 4-5 hours.

Asus Eee PC 1215N specs:

• 12.1-inch LED backlit display (1366×768 resolution)
• 2GB DDR3 RAM
• 320GB HDD
• NVIDIA ION 2 with Optimus technology
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• Bluetooth 3.0
• 1.3-megapixel webcam
• 2 USB 3.0 ports
• USB 2.0 Sleep’n'Charge port (also found on Toshiba T200 series)
• HDMI port
• VGA out
• SD/MMC card reader
• 6-cell battery
• Windows 7 Home Premium

ASUS Eee PC 1215N Looking Good For Late August/Early September Launch is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

MSI has released the MSI FX600 entertainment notebook which is equipped with a 2.26GHz Intel Core i3 processor, NVIDIA Optimus technology and specs that make it an attractive option to multimedia junkies.

Notably the FX600 comes with a Blu-Ray player, THX surround sound and NVIDIA Optimus technology to intelligently switch to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 325M with 1GB of Video RAM. The THX surround sound system includes 4 speakers and a button to turn on Cinema Pro technology which enhances the colors and viewing experience of movies. This feature is likely to provide similar visual enhancements to those we saw on the Lenovo Y460 with the OneKey Theater mode shown below.

In addition to the multimedia specs, the FX600 has a chiclet style keyboard and a multitouch mousepad as well as a jet black cover that is supposed to prevent scratches.

The MSI FX600 has the following specs:

• Intel Core i3 350M(2.26GHz)
• 15.6″ Display (1366×768)
• 4GB Memory
• 500GB HDD
• Blu-Ray Combo Drive
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 325M with NVIDIA Optimus
• THX surround sound
• ExpressCard
• 3 USB 2.0
• eSATA/USB combo

The FX600 is already available from Newegg for $799 and for that price you’ll find yourself with a well equipped notebook that should be able to handle many multimedia tasks as well as surfing the web, working on Office Documents and doing some photo and video editing.

MSI FX600 Notebook w/ Optimus and Media Rich Experience is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Asus Eee PC 1215N which has been getting a lot of attention lately thanks to a spec change which gives the 1215N a 1.8GHz dual-core Atom D525 CPU finally has a release date of late August and a price of, “below $500″ according to Engadget.

The Eee PC 1215N is a very spec’d out netbook packing NVIDIA ION 2 technology, Optimus technology, USB 3.0 and optional Bluetooth 3.0 into a 12.1″ thin netbook package.

The processor used in this netbook is more typically found in a nettop device that doesn’t need to be concerned about battery life, but there is hope that with the intelligent graphics switching of Optimus the Eee PC 1215N will be able to deliver acceptable battery life.

Asus Eee PC 1215N Review from Netbook News:

Asus Eee PC 1215N specs:

• 12.1-inch LED backlit display (1366×768 resolution)
• 2GB DDR3 RAM
• 320GB HDD
• NVIDIA ION 2 with Optimus technology
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• Bluetooth 3.0
• 1.3-megapixel webcam
• 2 USB 3.0 ports
• USB 2.0 Sleep’n'Charge port (also found on Toshiba T200 series)
• HDMI port
• VGA out
• SD/MMC card reader
• 6-cell battery
• Windows 7 Home Premium

Via NetBookNews

Asus Eee PC 1215 Ships in August for Under $500 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

New specs have been released for the Asus Eee PC 1215N netbook. The originally announced Intel Atom D510 or D550 processor options have been replaced with a more powerful dual-core, 1.8GHz Atom D525.

Asus Eee PC 1215N specs include:

• 12.1-inch LED backlit display (1366×768 resolution)
• 2GB DDR3 RAM
• 320GB HDD
• NVIDIA ION 2 with Optimus technology
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• Bluetooth 3.0
• 1.3-megapixel webcam
• 2 USB 3.0 ports
• USB 2.0 Sleep’n'Charge port (also found on Toshiba T200 series)
• HDMI port
• VGA out
• SD/MMC card reader
• 6-cell battery
• Windows 7 Home Premium

Asus Eee PC 1215N Video Overview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sAfW8193Ws&feature=player_embedded

Though the specs have been updated, there is still no pricing or release date information currently available.

Via Liliputing

Asus Eee PC 1215N Updated Specs is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

The ASUS Eee PC 1215 is a followup to the 12″ ASUS Eee PC 1201, and the new Eee PC 1215 has a lot of new technology in a small package. To start off the Eee PC 1215 has a newer Intel Atom D510 dual-core processor, NVIDIA ION graphics with intelligent GPU switching using their Optimus technology and to top it all off 2 USB 3.0 ports.

In addition to these internal changes NetBook News shot a hands on video which highlights some of the external changes like a larger trackpad, revamped keyboard and an overall slimmer form factor.

In addition to the video, Nicole Scott from Netbook news has a full review of the Eee PC 1215 up including a Windows Experience Index, that is equal to the rating my work desktop shows, and a 3DMark 03 score.

For the past year I have been a huge fan of 13″ notebooks as they straddle the line between portability and performance rather well, but when I look at a spec’d out netbook like the Asus Eee PC 1215 I am excited to see what kinds of roles we will see 12″ netbooks with a 1366 x 768 resolution playing later this year.

No word on pricing or availability yet.

ASUS Eee PC 1215 Netbook with Dual Core Atom w/ ION, USB 3.0 & Optimus is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

We’ve been hearing about NVIDIA ION 2 powered netbooks and NVIDIA Optimus graphic technology, which can save battery life by intelligently switching between mobile graphics solutions, since CES and now we get our first look at a netbook that puts it all to work. The Acer Aspire One 532G was just announced by Acer and is being billed as the first netbook with dedicated graphics for a 1080P video playback, including output to an external screen.

The Acer Aspire One doesn’t come out and announce it yet but it has all but been confirmed that the 512MB of dedicated video memory will be part of the ION 2 GPU. The press release does detail that the Aspire One 532G will come with NVIDIA Optimus technology for automatic and seamless switching between the ION processor and a battery friendly integrated graphics solution.

Video from Netbook Italia

Acer Aspire One 532G specs:

• 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor
• GMA 3150 GPU
• 2GB RAM
• 320GB hard drive
• NVIDIA ION2 discrete graphics

The Acer Aspire One 532G will be available in April at a price yet to be determined.

Image via Netbooknews.de

Acer Aspire One 532g – First with NVIDIA ION 2 and Optimus is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.